With the new year about to begin, I thought it would be fun for this Throwback Thursday to share one of my favorite seasonal recipes, Fruitcake! Back in 2014 I wrote this guest post in celebration for the debut of Traces and I can’t think of anything better than celebrating both the season and the publishing of a book. Enjoy!
Yum!
Thanks so much to Rosanna for letting me stop by today to celebrate my debut release of Traces (Ghosts of Roseville Book 1) which is now available. I’m excited to see my first paranormal romantic women’s fiction tale in the hands of readers.
I love to bake, so it’s only natural that one of the characters in my story also bakes. The housekeeper, Meg, is an county fair award-winning baker, no less. She makes chocolate chip cookies to die for and cinnamon rolls that melt in your mouth in addition to fixing scrumptious meals.
While I’m not a fan of a traditional fruit cake (something about the bits of citron and candied fruits, I think) the fruit cake I’m talking about is very different.
My grandmother’s raisin cake recipe is the basis for this fruity cake. One day it occurred to me to add to her yummy cake with other fruit and nuts. The result is a big hit for breakfast or dessert. When I make this, my hubby and I eat what we want then he takes it to work with him. I usually receive a few thank you emails for sharing it with his coworkers. I hope you enjoy it as well. Cheers!
Betty’s Fruitcake
Ingredients
2 cups water
1 box (2 1/2 cups) raisins
1 cup cold water
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 cup butter
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
2 cups sugar
4 cups sifted flour
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In medium saucepan, pour 2 cups water and add raisins, then boil gently for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, grease and flour a 13x9x2 inch loaf pan or Bundt pan.
In large bowl, combine cranberries, pecans, baking soda, butter, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and sugar. (Hint: Cut the stick of butter into small pieces to speed the melting process.)
Pour 1 cup cold water over raisins, then add raisins and liquor water to large bowl, stirring to combine and melt the butter.
Stir in flour, mixing well.
Pour batter into prepared pan. (Hint: The batter will be heavy; it might be easier to spoon the batter into the pan until you can lift the bowl with one hand.)
Bake 1 hour for 13x9x2 loaf pan or 1 hour 20 minutes for Bundt pan. Be sure to check for doneness using a toothpick; when the toothpick comes out clean, the cake is done.
Cool completely and enjoy!
Betty Bolte's Musings 